Re: Melbourne?
 

Come and have a look Olivia, it has loads going for it.

Have you been to Perth?

Re: Melbourne?
 

No:o

Would love to come and have a look, anyone have a spare 2000 ?;)

Re: Melbourne?
 

I seriously don't get this Graffiti thing. I really don't see that there is any less or more than any other major city, specifically those in the UK.

Have you ever been to either Perth or Melbourne ?

Al

Re: Melbourne?
 

See the post above yours;)

Re: Melbourne?
 

Olivia, I think you should wait and see what you think when you get here. I seriously doubt it will be anything close to what you imagine. I have never understood how someone could make the commitment to move to the other side of the world without visiting first, but I guess everyone has their own way of doing things.

I certainly don't think there is a graffiti problem here. Yes there is some about, but nothing worse than anywhere else. This is a city after all.

Re: Melbourne?
 

Why fly from Darwin when Singapore is closer, cheaper to fly to and everything there is cheaper than anywhere in Oz?

Re: Melbourne?
 

[QUOTE=bigAPE;7876252]Olivia, I think you should wait and see what you think when you get here. I seriously doubt it will be anything close to what you imagine. I have never understood how someone could make the commitment to move to the other side of the world without visiting first, but I guess everyone has their own way of doing things.

We haven't made any commitments yet. And if we do it would be for up to four years initially.
Visiting first would be ideal but unfortunately not everyone has that as an option. I think I'm being quite sensible in researching as much as possible before we commit.
I bet there are places you have never been to but you know you wouldn't want to live there.
For example I have never been to New York but know that I wouldn't want to move there.
Anyway I'm waffling now...

Re: Melbourne?
 

Banksy still has 3 on show in Melbourne.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_npTndTsDWv..._470x323,0.jpg

Re: Melbourne?
 

Lots of interesting points by everyone.

Here's my 2 cents worth.

Melbourne - Sporting capital....one difference to London is you can actually get tickets to anything you want to. We could never get tickets to anything in London. In Melbourne we can go to it all. The CBD has a unique charm and it's exciting at night. Lots of fantastic bars and restaurants to seek out down the alley lanes. Lots of things to do but flipping 'eck it's cold in the winter. Not temperature cold but the permanent wind makes it feel really cold with the wind chill factor. We live in an apartment right on the Bay and the wind keeps me awake most nights howling. I can feel the wind coming through the windows so we have to keep the blinds closed to keep the cold out. My winter coat I bought with me is getting more use here than the UK. Even in the summer/spring months it can feel cold somedays. My mum came to visit last November and was shocked she had to wrap up in Jumpers and jackets as it was so cold for a few weeks. I prefer the bay beaches only because it's safer for the kids however the sand is a bit grubby and dirty with ciggie butts near the city. I absolutely love the trams and feel like I'm living in Europe sometimes with the trams and cafe culture. The CBD is so accessible and never feels crowded. In fact I've not felt crowded or had trouble parking anywhere in metropolitan melbourne. Melbourne CBD is the best city I've ever visited and takes the best bits of London that we like so it's perfect.....the only downside is the weather. It's just not hot enough for us.

Perth - Very beautiful but the CBD is a bit boring and there's not that much to do in the rest of it. It has the most amazing sunsets over the ocean that I've ever seen. It's got great weather and low humidity.

Brisbane - Loved the beach on the river but that's about it. Mud flats and no beaches put me off. There's only one road to Gold Coast which is permanently congested. The humidity felt quite stiffling. Too sticky in the summer but great in the winter.

Gold Coast - too much like Benidorm and Orlando. Great for a holiday but couldn't live there.

Sunshine coast - very beautiful but not a lot going on. Good for tourists but living day to day may get a bit dull

Sydney - The harbour and beaches are gorgeous and IMO better than Melbourne. However the CBD lacks character and isn't a patch on Melbourne CBD. It's not easy to get around on public transport and if you drive it's hard to park. The weather is a few degrees warmer than Melbourne in the winter which is a real plus.

For me the ideal place is a hybrid of Sydney and Melbourne. Melbourne CBD, trams, cafe culture with Sydney harbour, beaches and weather.

Gail :thumbup:

Re: Melbourne?
 

Blimey well done, took me about 20 years to finalise my views to those above :thumbsup:

Cold has barely ever worried me, humidty and heat often have.

Re: Melbourne?
 

Good to read your views.

I agree that if your main interests are a large interesting CBD and city beaches then Brisbane is not the best choice. Brisbane hides its best bits in the suburbs that tourists usually never see - more of a great place to live than a tourist destination. Though lots of people do the drive 45 mins to the beaches or pop over to the island beaches all year round which does compensate for the lack of city beaches somewhat - beaches become rather useless in the cold.

One thing I did disagree with was "There's only one road to Gold Coast which is permanently congested." - I only travel it on weekends and I rarely if ever have been stuck in traffic for years since they upgraded it to 4/5 lanes each way. Wish I could say the same about the road to the Sunshine Coast.

Re: Melbourne?
 

OMG! Vandals!!!!! I'm disgusted :frown:

*joke* This does not offend me.

Re: Melbourne?
 

I think my point is that if you can't afford to visit a year or so before you move here then how will you afford to support yourself once you get here ?

Perhaps this is coming across badly (won't be the first time), but what I am suggesting is that you're risking a hell of a lot of money and stress on the assumption that you'll get work almost straight away in a city you have never visited, in a financial recession, and are not even sure you would want to live in. What happens if you move out and realise that Australia isn't for you (happens to a lot of people). How will you afford to move back ?

I guess if you don't have kids then it's not the end of the world and you could treat it like a long holiday. In which case good on you for giving it a go :thumbup:

My only advice is to take peoples opinion on forums with a pinch of salt. If you're asking what times trains run from A to B or if there are any high end clothes shops in some suburb then you can pretty much be assured you'll get a decent response, but anything to do with which city is best will always bring out people passion which is highly subjective and personal.

Personally I try to keep an open mind and not to pre-judge a place before I get there. I tend to build up a mental picture of a place and I have learned time and again that my assumptions are generally wrong.

For example, I always thought I would hate NY (not a fan of BIG cities) but when I got there I loved it. It was nothing like the TV shows (oddly enough) and actually had a very suburban feel in the different boroughs. Even on Manhattan Island, which was deserted on a Sunday Morning like a scene from the film "I am Legend", had very specific regions brimming with character.

I thought I would love Sydney and I hated it, left within a couple of days. Thought I would dislike Brisbane but actually quite liked it. A little sterile, but quite nice actually. With Canberra I was about right, just odd.

Please keep in mind this is just my personal opinion and I'm not trying to influence you in any way. All I'm saying is that places often surprise you.

Al

Re: Melbourne?
 

Not going to say one is better than the other but I came without visiting 1st and I'm glad I did it that way. In my case I would have thought it was a waste of money to have come on a reccie.

Although I could afford to come on a reccie I decided not to for many reasons:
- it wouldn't have been representative of what it was like to live here.
- you should live in a place for a while to get the feel for it.
- the money saved from the reccie can be used for the return trip.
- if you don't return then you've got that money to spend on something else.
- a successful reccie does not ensure a successful migration.

Also on a personal note, I've always found the positives in the places I've lived (I even loved Bermondsey when I lived there). So as long as I'm not living a war zone I could live almost anywhere where I can get along.

As for Melbourne, I was a little worried for the 1st day but I've loved living here since day 2. :thumbup:

Re: Melbourne?
 

couldn't have agreed more. My OH company offered to fly me out for a reccie (not OH as he knew Melbourne) when they offered him the job to make sure I was ok with it. Decided not to come for some of the reasons above. In fact I think if I had have come on a reccie I probably wouldn;t have moved here as it was winter, cold and I was just surprised by it at first. Now I love it.